


The Skeleton Tree

by Lay_Us_Down



Category: Thomas/Minho - Fandom, the maze runner
Genre: M/M, The Maze Runner - Freeform, The Skeleton Tree, thominho - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-18
Updated: 2016-06-05
Packaged: 2018-05-27 11:01:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6282043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lay_Us_Down/pseuds/Lay_Us_Down
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Less than forty-eight hours after thirteen-year-old Thomas sets off on a sailing trip down the San Jose coast with his uncle, their boat sinks. The only survivors are Thomas and a boy named Minho, who seemingly dislikes Thomas immediately. Thomas and Minho have no radio, no flares, no food. Suddenly, they've got to forage, fish and scavenge the shore for supplies. Thomas prefers the company of a friendly, curious wolf more than that of the prickly Minho. But the boys have to get along if they want to survive.<br/>Because as the days get colder and the salmon migration ends, survival will take more than sheer force of will. Eventually, in the wilderness of San Jose, the boys discover an improbable bond- and the compassion that might truly lead them down the path of rescue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! This is my first Thominho fic, so please comment below and give me suggestions improving this!  
> It's alright if you haven't read The Skeleton Tree yet, but I recommend it to you as I think that it's a really good book!

Prologue

 

 

When I wake in the night, I’m afraid.  
I lie staring through the blackness, listening for every sound from the forest. I can’t see the ceiling or the walls of the cabin. I can’t see Minho, and for a moment I’m sure that he’s gone. But then, through the dark, comes the fluttery sound of his breathing, and I feel safe to know that he’s near.  
I used to be scared all the time, and nights were the worst. When the sun went down, I felt like screaming. I’m not the same anymore. I’ve learned many things about the forest and the sea, and many things about myself. But when I wake in the dark, I’m afraid.  
But normally I wake with my enemy’s arms hugging me, so why shouldn’t I be afraid?  
My enemy is Minho, but apparently he doesn’t mind being called my enemy. He is the person who teased me mercilessly and made me write everything down his this sodden notebook. He is the person who helped me when I cut myself on a sharp stone and taught me how to gut a fish.  
This all happened when I was thirteen and Minho was fourteen.  
This is the story of how I came to be in this bear-infested, mosquito-ridden woods.  
This is how I came to know Minho.


	2. My Uncle's A Daredevil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas...well, Thomas gets a month off from school.

My mother tried to warn me about Uncle Ben. “He’s a daredevil,” she said. “He can’t be happy unless he’s facing danger.”  
But I loved my uncle. He raced motorcycles; he jumped out of airplanes; he fought forest fires for a living. My father was an accountant who drove a black Alero and worked in an office. It was no wonder Uncle Ben was my hero when I was young.  
He went away for long adventures, sometimes months at a time. When my mother died and Uncle Ben turned up for the funeral, I hardly recognized him. He stayed only four days, then vanished again. He bought a boat and set off to said around the world.  
It was almost a year when he came back into my life. My father answered the phone and there he was, talking from the dock in San Jose, Costa Rica.  
They had a long conversation that Father didn’t allow me to hear. He turned his back and whispered odd things, all starting with “Really, Jack?”  
“Really,Ben? Do you think it’s a good idea?”  
“Really, Ben? Thomas’s only been on a boat once in his life.”  
“Really, Ben?I’m not sure it’s good for him now, as school is almost starting.”  
When he hung up the phone he was pale and worried.  
“What’s up, Pa?” I asked.  
He sighed. “Well, your Uncle Ben wants you to fly up to San Jose and sail home by boat.”  
I wasn’t sure what to say. I hadn’t even seen my uncle anymore, and I frequently got seasick on a boat.  
“You do know that you’ll miss more than a month of school,” Father said, and suddenly sailing with Uncle Ben was a great idea. I begged him to let me go.  
“It might be a learning opportunity,” I told him.  
“No doubt,” Dad snorted. “ Ben will probably teach you all about being rude and rebelling.”  
He carded a hand through my hair and laughed. “Well, I have to be going on another business trip soon,” he mused, “So maybe you should go.” I lowered my head. Another business trip? Father was always going on business trips. He was happy when he went off and sad when he came back.  
“Alright, you can go.” He said, smiling down at me. “What about Mary and Apple?” I asked, gesturing at Mary, our cat and Apple, my pet Labrador Retriever.  
“I’m sure Mary and Apple will still be in good shape when you come back. Now go and pack your bag. Ben wants you up there before Friday.”  
‘Okay, Dad.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please Don't Kill Me.  
> If You Think It's Crap.


	3. Sailing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's go and sink our ship!

Less than a week later, I was on an a plane flying up to San Jose. Around my neck hung a sign that said UNACCOMPANIED MINOR. It was two months before fourteenth birthday, but the flight attendants thought that I was eleven or so. They made a big fuss over me because I was a “little kid” traveling by myself.  
All the way north I stared through the window at the foggy landscape. Although it was nearly the end of September, I saw snow covering the ground when I boarded the plane. I thought I could see for thousands of miles around, but there wasn’t a house or road in sight.  
There wasn’t many people on the plane, and I imagined the plane losing turbulence and me crawling out from the wreckage of a plane that crashed onto a glacier. Me, calling out for help as I surveyed the mountains.  
Logic: I would freeze to death as I didn’t know a thing about camping.  
My mind: -  
Actually, I haven’t figured out what to do.

We arrived in San Jose an hour late, after the sun had set. A flight attendant led me to the airport and told me the way out to the terminal, like I was a little kid. As if. Uncle Ben laughed when he saw me. He tore the sign off my neck and threw it like a Frisbee pro towards a garbage can. “You don’t need that nonsense anymore,” he said.  
We took a cab to the dock, where Uncle Ben had parked his boat. He called it Aquadeck, and it looked just right for sailing around the world. When Uncle Ben pushed open a hatch and led me up a steep ladder, I was surprised to see another boy sitting on the steps.  
He was Asian, older than me by a year, probably. His arms were muscled and tanned, and his black hair was styled in a I’m not trying at all style. Uncle Ben put a hand on my shoulder and told the kid, “Say hello to Thomas, Tommy for short.”  
I wished he hadn’t used that kiddy name from my childhood, and from the glint in the kid’s eyes I knew that he’d tease me about it later.  
They boy got up and shook my hand but he didn’t say anything. He pushed past me and said to Uncle Ben, “I’m going to bed.”  
“Don’t you want to stay up for a while? Thomas just got here.”asked Uncle Ben. “Have a gam, as whalers used to say?”  
“No.” said the kid. He continued on his way and went down the stairs.  
“Hey, Minho, come on,” said Uncle Ben, disappointed. But the kid didn’t stick his head up from the stairs.  
We watched him go. Then Uncle Ben sort of laughed and said, “That’s Minho.”  
Hmm. Asian name for an Asian kid.  
“Who is he?” I asked.  
“Well, that’s a long story,” said Uncle Ben. “And it’s a little late tonight. So let’s wait until tomorrow, till we’re underway, and you can both hear it.”  
“He’s coming with us?”  
Uncle Ben nodded, then kept going like a bobblehead doll. “Yeah, I guess he is.”  
We spent the night at the dock. At first I felt awkward being around Uncle Ben again but he was very kind. He showed me all the things he’d collected on his voyage, then talked about my dad.He told funny stories I’d never heard before, and he said that my father was the best person who had ever lived.  
I slept with Minho on a tiny cot that cramped my toes, but I had an excellent sleep. I woke up slightly after sunrise with Minho snoring right beside me on the other mini bed. Uncle Ben was peering around the door and smiling when he saw me awake. “Go back to sleep, everything’s alright.”  
Which obviously made me wonder what had happened.  
There wasn’t much time for thinking, though. I was so tired that I fell back into Dreamland right after Uncle Ben closed the door.  
But, I woke up with my legs in cold water.  
Minho was beside me still snoring his head off. I glanced down from my bed and saw…  
That our cabin floor was covered with water.  
The first thing I thought was that our toilet had backed up or something stupid. [What? It could happen!] I shook Minho awake and the first thing he said was , “It better be somebody dying.”  
And he immediately fell back asleep.  
“Minho! The cabin’s flooded!” I yelled, pushing him out of his bed. He was one heavy boy.  
“What?” He spluttered, coming up and glaring at me. “The cabin’s flooded!” I told him, hauling him up and dragging him towards the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're somewhere... probably nearing 'I think you're cute'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost kissing... but it could be mistaken for something else.
> 
> Poor Thomas is confused.

Uncle Ben was standing in the ship's head when me and Minho found him. Minho was grumbling the whole time we were searching for Uncle Ben and I was close to telling him to shut up. It was definitely very annoying having to drag Minho everywhere I went.

  


"Boys! Come help me bail some water out of the ship!" Uncle Ben cried, handing me and Minho a bucket.

  


"Go to the deck, there's the most water there."

  


"Must we?" Minho asked me when we both reached the deck.

  


The deck's water level hand reached up to my knees by then, and I thought, _This is hopeless. Especially with Minho along._

  


"Come on, Minho." I groaned. I weakly tried to throw the water out of the ship, but most of it splattered on me.

  


I have _no_ experience bailing out water.

  


"Stupid," Minho laughed. "It's like that."

  


He gripped my arm gently and mimed throwing the water out, then smacking my face.

  


I had no idea why I thought it was funny, but it was.

  


Minho laughed again and the sun shone down on his brilliantly handsome face, lighting everything up.

  


_What?!_

  


I don't think boys are cute... least of all Minho.

  


Just then, I realised that Minho was still holding my arm. I tried to shake it out of his grip, but he just held it tighter and twisted me around so I was facing him.

  


He had mesmerizing black eyes, I didn't know about that.

  


"You're cute." MInho breathed out.

  


He pulled me closer until our faces were barely apart, and I thought he was going to close the gap until Uncle Ben yelled, "Hey!"

  


We both immediately pulled apart and I felt my face turn bright red. Minho wasn't any better. His face was a deep, dusky red and I thought it was kind of cute.

  


_Oh crap._  

  


"Have you guys finished bailing the water out yet?" Uncle Ben asked, looking at both me and Minho rather disapprovingly.

  


"Uh, soon..." Minho trailed off when he realised that the water was up to his middle already, which was bad news for me. I was almost a head shorter that he was!

  


"Don't worry, Uncle Ben, we'll finish it soon!" I yelled, and tried to bail water out. Unsuccessfully.

  


"And no more hanky-panky!" Uncle Ben yelled before retreating into the ship's head once more. I couldn't believe how natural he was acting. If I was on a sinking ship and the two boys I was told to take care of was close to making out with each other I'd lock them in separate cabins.

But we weren't in any relationship... I guess. And we were definitely not close to making out.

Minho turned to looks at me, smirking widely, and I blushed once more before we both got back to work, but noticeably closer than before.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if it's too fast, I'm just not those type to build a slow relationship. And I don't think Minho is either XD


	5. Uncle Ben

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where's Uncle Ben?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What am I doing?
> 
> I have no experience with oars, why am I writing about them?
> 
> Are you supposed to row backward, or forward?

"Boys! Get the lifeboat out now!" Uncle Ben hollered from the ship's head suddenly.

 

I stared at him. "Are we going to-"

 

"No time to explain! You and Minho, get the lifeboat out!" Uncle Ben screamed. The boat tilted dangerously, sending another wave of seawater cascading down on me and Minho.

 

"Let's go!" I felt Minho grab my arm and pull me towards the vessel of the ship.

 

The bright orange lifeboat is on a downward sloping slipway on the stern of vessel. Me and Minho desperately try to pull it out, and after a few minutes it free falls onto the water, splashing me and Minho with freezing cold water. Again.

 

"If this keeps up, we'll all have colds," I grumbled as I urged Minho onto the lifeboat. 

 

We ~~float~~ ~~push~~ paddled the lifeboat to the ship's head, not quite a few meters above our heads. Uncle Ben scrambled about, grabbing things and placing them into a haversack. "Uncle Ben!" Minho yelled. "We have to go!"

 

"Wait! I forgot something!" Uncle Ben rushes off to the cabins, and I can see him rooting about in his cabin's drawer.

 

"Uncle Ben!" I shouted. "The boat's sinking!"

 

I didn't think he would hear me, but Uncle Ben turned around immediately after my warning and pushed his way back towards us. Minho's grip on my shoulder was painfully tight as we watched Uncle Ben wade his way towards us.

 

 _It's a radio_ , I think.  _That's what he went back for._

 

Suddenly, a ridiculously large wave washed over the ship, and _Aquadeck,_  which was slowly sinking, seemed to speed up by 80%.

 

"Uncle Ben!" I screamed hoarsely. Minho seemed to be wanting to jump onto the ship and just drag Uncle Ben onto the lifeboat.

 

Another wave crashes onto _Aquadeck_ and Uncle Ben, drenched, throws the radio towards me.

 

I was never good at catching, and when it seemed to be in my hands, it slipped away and was lost in the water.

 

I looked up, and Uncle Ben was staring at me.

 

Not in horror. In disappointment and sadness.

 

And the last wave crashed onto _Aquadeck_ and the whole ship sank, dragging Uncle Ben along. 

 

 

 

 

I stared in horror as the whole  _Aquadeck_ descended into the clear water, sparkling in the sun.

 

Minho didn't say anything, just ran his fingers down my sodden back and tried to comfort me as well as himself.

 

"Where are the oars?" I asked finally, turning to the back to looks for the wooden paddles.

 

"Here, I'll row," Minho offered, taking the oars from my hand and dipping them in the water.

 

It was obvious he didn't know how to row, or even which part of the oar went into the water.

 

"Minho," I chuckled, "the fat bit of the oar goes in the water. And you're supposed to row forwards, not backwards. You're rowing us in the wrong direction!"

 

"I knew that," MInho said quickly, flipping the oars around and rowing us in the right direction.

 

As he (finally) rowed us in the right direction, I sat back and kept a steady survey on our surroundings, telling Minho when to stop and turn around, etc, etc.

 

Most of the time.

 

The rest of which I spent staring at Minho.

 

I mean, have you seen his muscles?! They were honestly something to die for. And his biceps...

 

Oh crap. I'm admiring his muscles. What next?  
  


I mean, it's complete platonic. Platonically admiring somebody's perfect muscles and the cute lines on his face.

 

Minho must have noticed me staring at him, so he flipped me off with this cute smirk that made my face heat up.

 

It was going to be a long day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hm... when did I update this?
> 
> Oh yeah, one day after I posted Chapter 4.
> 
> Ice cream, anybody?


End file.
